Catchy, ditzy wine labels grab me every time
Hope all had a thankful Thanksgiving. This is the season of giving. Please choose wisely by going to charitynavigator.org. They provide a wealth of info on charities and how much actually goes to recipients. Some examples: the V Foundation, NC (ESPN - Valvano) for cancer research spends 95.7 percent on the patients while the American Cancer Society spends only 75.96 percent.
The best ratio for cancer is Alex’s Lemonade Stand PA at 97 percent. Each charity is fully evaluated, including CEO wages. Delaware Museum of Natural History only spends 58.15 percent on recipient programs, while 79 percent of funding comes from Delaware state government. Director William Spruance is paid $85,400 plus benefits to preside over a $646,370 deficit. His budget had no fundraising or federated campaign revenue. By comparison, comparable state programs in Illinios are 91.36 percent, Arizona 89.58 percent and Cleveland 90.06 percent. You may conclude after looking which effectively managed programs deserve your hard-won donations.
Casillero del Diablo Manchester United Legendary Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 makes a nice gift for soccer fans, soccer moms and those who enjoy excellent wine. The bottle is signed by 3 Manchester greats including Chicharito. You can find a gift-packed six pack for $90. Dark purple-red, bouquet is dark chocolate, black cherries, blackberries. Berry flavors ride a well-balanced frame with soft tannins and oak notes. These tell me the wine will age well. Drinkable now.
Domaine Tempier Bandol La Tourtine Red 2011, 94 WE points, can be found for $62. Tempier in good years may produce the best Rosé in the world but La Tourtine shows they aren’t one-trick ponies. The wine won’t be ready until 2019. Discerning drinkers reading here would rather look to the 2010 Domaine Sorin Bandol Red, 94 points from WE, ready in 2016. A pretty structured wine with concentrated fruit, a little wood-driven vanillin, some dry tannins and a pleasant, blackberry-flavored finish. Buy this gem for $25, 92 points McD.
Zachys’ holiday auction is Dec. 4 and 5 at Smith and Wollensky in NYC. Please attend at least once in your lifetime. The wine that you may sample is well worth the trip. Go here for more info: www.zachys.com/auctions/Default.aspx?AuctionId=163.
Mas Torrent Martinet Bru Priorat 2011 is blended of Garnacha and syrah aged 18 months in oak. Dark purple, with raspberry, cherry and mineral bouquet. A huge mouthful of very ripe blackberry and plum, with a proper acidity. Good structure, firm tannins and vanillin deftly balanced tell me Martinet will age beautifully, 92 McD points under $28.
Bedrock Sonoma Zinfandel was written of as the Yabba Dabba Doo wine. All reading here know what a sucker I am for catchy, ditzy labeling. I figure anyone bold enough to name a wine so, either has a true winner or plonk. Winemaker Morgan Twain Peterson caught my eye when he wrote, “For me, Zinfandel needs to straddle a spot between opulence and brightness, spice and perfume. It should be powerful but have a certain elegance. The greatest examples have weight but dance, they need to do an Aztec two-step (to riff-off Ferlinghetti), they should jitterbug with perfume (to jig a bit of Tom Robbins); they should be more Brigitte Bardot than Catherine Deneuve (to steal from any number of people that slept with Bardot when she was underage by current American standards).
They should be sultry, sprightly, and sexy. And most importantly, they should ooze soul-satisfying deliciousness.” Any winemaker who can string Ferlinghetti, Robbins, Bardot and Deneuve into a sentence describing wine ain’t makin no plonk.
At $28 with 92 McD points, it’s tough to get your hands on but worth the effort. Contact Jean Lafitte or Edward Teach to sneak it in past the Schwartzkopf blockade.
